I think you are right, it is a matter of convenience, to type less, as the story hints, but not only for writing to files, also for displaying messages on the c

I think you are right, it is a matter of convenience, to type less, as the story hints, but not only for writing to files, also for displaying messages on the console. According to the book quoted in the link: Since a command should by default execute its most commonly used function, ... echo appends the final newline automatically. It may seem insignificant, but this story highlights, in nerd humour, some of the design philosophy behind Unix. Classic Kernighan (as the book's co-author).